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V20 or Midlaw
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 2:20 pm
by Anonymous User
I have to choose between a Vault 20 firm in NY or a prominent midlaw firm in a much smaller secondary(tertiary?) market where all of my family lives. I ultimately want to move back to that market. The Vault firm obviously pays more than the midlaw firm, but after accounting for taxes and cost of living, it's probably not a major difference.
Am I crazy for considering the midlaw firm? If this is the market I want to be in eventually, why not just go now? On the other hand, I feel like I can't turn down the Vault firm in good conscience because of the perceived prestige and benefit of having it on my resume. Then again, maybe law school has just beat this idea of prestigious into my head.
Re: V20 or Midlaw
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 3:37 pm
by bdubs
Do you want to do transactional work or litigation?
Re: V20 or Midlaw
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 4:44 pm
by Anonymous User
Litigation. I don't want to go inhouse.
Re: V20 or Midlaw
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 5:00 pm
by RVP11
If you're 100% sure you want to have a career in your hometown and you'll be able to service any debt you might have, choose the MidLaw firm. If you're at all in doubt, go V20.
Re: V20 or Midlaw
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 5:40 pm
by bdubs
Anonymous User wrote:Litigation. I don't want to go inhouse.
Stay in your home market as long as you don't have any grand ambitions to be a superstar.
Re: V20 or Midlaw
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 5:42 pm
by RVP11
bdubs wrote:Anonymous User wrote:Litigation. I don't want to go inhouse.
Stay in your home market as long as you don't have any grand ambitions to be a superstar.
Even if he wanted to do transactional the analysis would be basically the same.
Re: V20 or Midlaw
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 5:55 pm
by 20160810
RVP11 wrote:If you're 100% sure you want to have a career in your hometown and you'll be able to service any debt you might have, choose the MidLaw firm. If you're at all in doubt, go V20.
Yup.
My guess is the midlaw firm has an excellent reputation in whatever city you're looking to end up in, so it would give you plenty of options in that town. Vault rankings really only matter in NY and DC, and to a lesser extent LA, SF and Chicago. If you're headed to some place like Seattle of Des Moines, just go with the good local firm because nobody gives a shit about Vault rankings there.
Re: V20 or Midlaw
Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 10:56 am
by Anonymous User
SBL wrote:RVP11 wrote:If you're 100% sure you want to have a career in your hometown and you'll be able to service any debt you might have, choose the MidLaw firm. If you're at all in doubt, go V20.
Yup.
My guess is the midlaw firm has an excellent reputation in whatever city you're looking to end up in, so it would give you plenty of options in that town. Vault rankings really only matter in NY and DC, and to a lesser extent LA, SF and Chicago. If you're headed to some place like Seattle of Des Moines, just go with the good local firm because nobody gives a shit about Vault rankings there.
To what extent do they matter in the cities you named? And matter for what exactly?
Just curious, bc I've got biglaw but it is not vault ranked, and I'm unclear as to the importance of vault rankings. tyia
Re: V20 or Midlaw
Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:17 pm
by Renne Walker
In your case vault rankings are irrelevant. If you are at a V20 or near the bottom of V100 the pay is nearly the same. How much is your mid-law pay? Run the numbers on a COL internet site and you may discover that $160K in NYC is equivalent to $90K in your mid-law market.